National sports

Kahne and pit crew still upset after being bumped by Stewart

Kasey Kahne and his crew chief were still seething over a tap by Tony Stewart that took their car from contention when it crashed at Chicagoland Speedway.

Stewart bumped Kahne on a restart Sunday in the Tropicana 400, sending the rookie into the wall. Kahne’s crew quickly charged Stewart’s pit. Angry words and punches were flying, and people were wrestling on the ground.

Ray Evernham, who owns Kahne’s car, said 2002 NASCAR Cup champion Stewart should be suspended.

Kahne was one of 22 drivers participating Monday in a Nextel Cup test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the Brickyard 400 will be run Aug. 8. Stewart, who won the Chicagoland race, was not testing at Indy but was very much on the minds of Kahne and crew chief Tommy Baldwin.

“Tony does some stupid things, like he did yesterday,” Baldwin said. “He’s done this to so many people for so long now, it doesn’t bother him. I have no respect for him.”

Kahne said somebody needs to set Stewart straight.

“That’s the wrong place for that,” he said. “It turned me right into the wall. If my car goes the other way, it would have taken Michael Waltrip and Brian Vickers. It probably would have been a 15- or 20-car wreck.”

Kahne said if he did something similar, his crew chief would sit him down and that Greg Zipadelli should do the same with Stewart.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Stewart said Sunday. “It was a racing incident.”

NASCAR agreed and said the driver won’t be penalized.

Hockey

Devils sign Matvichuk

The New Jersey Devils bolstered their defense by signing unrestricted free-agent defenseman Richard Matvichuk, who comes to the Meadowlands after 12 seasons with the Dallas Stars. Terms of the deal were not released.

The signing provides the Devils some insurance in case 22-year veteran Scott Stevens, who sustained a season-ending concussion in January, does not return. Defensemen Scott Niedermayer and Brian Rafalski also could leave as restricted free agents.

“The Anaheim Mighty Ducks have agreed to terms on a 2-year contract with defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski.

Vishnevski, 24, had a career-high six goals and 10 assists in 73 games for the Mighty Ducks last season.

“The St. Louis Blues re-signed forward Mike Sillinger. Sillinger, 33, began last season in Phoenix and came to St. Louis in a trade for goalie Brent Johnson just before the trade deadline. Sillinger had five goals and five assists in 16 games with the Blues.

“The Pittsburgh Penguins signed restricted free-agent forward Ryan VandenBussche.

The 31-year-old VandenBussche played in a career-high 65 games last season with the Chicago Blackhawks, finishing with four goals, one assist and 120 penalty minutes.

Boxing

Tillman sentenced to prison

Former Olympic heavyweight boxing champion Henry Tillman was sentenced in Las Vegas to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal identity theft charges.

Tillman, 43, of Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release after he gets out of prison, said Daniel Bogden, U.S. attorney for Nevada.

Tillman, who won a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics, was arrested Jan. 6 by Las Vegas police. He was charged with fraudulent possession, transfer and use of documents.

Authorities said a woman tried to pass a counterfeit check in the amount of $2,838 at a Las Vegas bank but fled in Tillman’s car after the teller became suspicious.

Police searched the car and arrested five other people. Police found six fake driver’s licenses, 18 bad checks in various company names and eight counterfeit credit cards.

Basketball

St. Bonnie’s seeks dismissal

St. Bonaventure asked a federal judge in Buffalo, N.Y., to throw out a $21.5 million wrongful-dismissal lawsuit filed by former men’s basketball coach Jan van Breda Kolff.

In the school’s first legal response to the suit, lawyer Judy Hernandez argued van Breda Kolff had no basis for his claims, and noted that a clause in his contract allowed the school to dismiss him without cause.

Hernandez also asked that the court consider imposing sanctions against van Breda Kolff’s lawyer for filing a claim not supported by law.

Van Breda Kolff was fired in April 2003 following a school investigation after junior forward Jamil Terrell was ruled ineligible for failing to meet NCAA junior college transfer guidelines. Terrell earned a certificate in welding at a community college before transferring and playing for St. Bonaventure for most of the 2002-03 season.

The Atlantic 10 stripped the team of its conference victories and barred it from its league playoff tournament, moves that led to Bonnies players boycotting the final two games of their season.

Van Breda Kolff, an assistant with the New Orleans Hornets last season, has argued that he was not aware of Terrell’s status.

Tennis

Sharapova withdraws

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from next week’s JPMorgan Chase Open in Carson, Calif., needing rest and recuperation.

The Chase Open was to have been Sharapova’s first American hard court tournament in her preparation for the US Open.

Sharapova will rejoin the WTA tour for the Acura Classic on July 26.